DC Water’s Race Against Time: The Push to Eliminate Lead Pipes by 2037

Construction workers replace lead pipe in Northwest D.C. (Photo by Misha Bernard-Lucien)

WASHINGTON—Washington, D.C. is in a race against time and trust. Beneath the District’s historic buildings and roads, thousands of aging lead pipes carry drinking water into homes. For the DC Water and Sewer Authority, removing every one of those pipes by 2037 is not only a logistical challenge but a public health imperative.

At the forefront of that effort is William Elledge, director of Capital Water Programs and the Lead-Free DC initiative. With more than 25 years of experience in planning and pipeline construction, Elledge has spent the past decade shaping DC Water’s infrastructure projects and now, its ambitious public health mission.

“The health impacts are primarily neurological,” Elledge said in an interview. “They can lead to developmental delays, learning disabilities and attention problems, especially in children under seven. We’re particularly interested in achieving a health benefit for little kids and women who are nursing or pregnant.”

William Elledge

Director of Engineering and Technical Services at DC Water. (Photo courtesy of DC Water)

While DC Water ensures that treated water leaving its facilities is lead-free, contamination can occur when that water passes through aging service lines made of lead, relics from a time when the material was prized for its durability and pliability.

“From a construction perspective, lead was actually a very functional material,” Elledge said. “It’s strong, it’s easy to work with and repair, and it lasts a long time. We just didn’t know about the health impacts back then.”

The Lead-Free DC initiative, launched in 2019, aims to replace roughly 42,000 lead service lines citywide. When the program began, DC Water estimated the total at 28,000, but further investigation revealed a higher number. Elledge said the agency is still on track to meet its original goal for the first 28,000 replacements by 2030 and anticipates finishing the remainder by 2037: the federal deadline set by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI).

Funding, however, remains one of the program’s biggest hurdles. The D.C. Council allocated $8.5 million in fiscal year 2022 to help cover the full cost of lead pipe replacements on private property when DC Water replaces the public portion. But with tens of thousands of pipes still in place, the price tag continues to grow.

“The biggest thing is money,” Elledge said. “We need more federal funding and district support where possible. The Council continues to appropriate a small amount of money each year, but it only funds one particular program for a couple of months. After that, we rely on DC Water’s funds and federal assistance.”

Even with funding, the agency faces another unexpected challenge: convincing residents to participate.

“This is a program that has no direct cost to the homeowner,” Elledge said. “It has a health benefit and increases property value, yet we still have to convince people to let us do it.”

DC Water’s team of “activators,” trained residents hired through a partnership with the Department of Employment Services (DOES), goes door to door explaining the program and seeking homeowners’ consent. The approach doubles as a workforce development initiative, offering job training and stable employment to D.C. residents.

“It’s just a fantastic side benefit,” Elledge said. “We’re not only addressing health impacts and doing construction work, but we’re also helping people find solid employment.”

Even so, participation hovers around 80 to 90 percent per block. Some residents refuse to sign the access form, often citing privacy concerns or skepticism. Without a citywide mandate, DC Water cannot compel replacements.

Another challenge DC Water faces is maintaining trust. Given the country’s history, the 2014 water crisis in Flint, Michigan, left deep scars on public confidence in government-led water safety initiatives. In a post-Flint era, skepticism is a factor to consider.

“To build trust, we make sure we’re transparent,” Elledge said. “If you live in the district, you can go to dcwater.com/lead, type in your address, and see what kind of service line you have. We even show how confident we are in that data: verified, suspected, or unknown.”

The agency’s Lead Service Line Inventory Map allows residents to see their neighborhood’s risk level and encourages transparency about infrastructure conditions. That openness, Elledge believes, is key to restoring faith in public utilities.

Community response has been somewhat positive, he added. Though most utility hotlines received complaints, DC Water’s lead hotline occasionally receives “thank-you” calls from residents who appreciated the crew’s communication, flexibility, or consideration during stressful times.

Still, common complaints persist. “Our number one complaint is restoring the front yard,” Elledge said. “We dig a hole or two, and people naturally want their lawns to look like they did before. We do our best to make sure that happens.”

DC Water’s collaborations extend beyond DOES. The Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) partners with the utility to handle past “partial replacements,” where only one side—public or private—was replaced. The Department of Health provides residents with additional resources about lead exposure and testing.

Despite the governmental hurdles, Elledge remains optimistic. “When you have a higher purpose, you’re going to push through,” he said. “We know that what we’re doing has a generational impact. Water is life.”

As for the residents of D.C., Elledge has one main request: check your address and sign up. “Even if we’re not coming to your neighborhood for another eight or nine years, we still need people to sign up,” he said.

About DC Water

The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) was established in 1996 as an independent authority to provide drinking water, wastewater collection, and treatment services to D.C. residents. The agency operates more than 1,300 miles of water mains, 1,800 miles of sewer lines, and the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant, one of the largest in the world.

Photograph of DC Water (Photo by Misha Bernard-Lucien)

Under the oversight of the D.C. Council’s Committee on Transportation and the Environment, DC Water manages billions in infrastructure assets and oversees projects like Lead-Free DC that aim to modernize the city’s aging water system while safeguarding public health.

As Elledge put it: “[DC Water is] not just replacing pipes, we’re protecting future generations.”